BUDI95: Public Urged To Report To KPDN, Not Social Media

BUTTERWORTH, Oct 16 (Bernama) -- The Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN) has urged the public to lodge official reports on any alleged pump meter manipulation involving the BUDI MADANI RON95 (BUDI95) fuel subsidy initiative by petrol station operators, instead of spreading such claims on social media.

Penang KPDN director S. Jegan said this approach is crucial to allow proper investigations to be conducted, and appropriate action taken if the allegations are found to be true.

“So far, we have not received any complaints related to BUDI95 since its implementation on Sept 30, except for one case involving a technical issue, which was found to be due to user error and has since been resolved.

“I would like to stress that if there are any issues concerning BUDI95, they should be reported directly to KPDN through our official channels. Going viral on social media will not solve the problem,” he told reporters after conducting a check in conjunction with the implementation of the Festive Season Maximum Price Scheme (SHMMP) for Deepavali 2025, here, today.

Jegan said the issue should not have arisen, as it is not easy to manipulate or tamper with the fuel pump meter mechanism at petrol stations, adding that the amount of subsidy under the BUDI95 programme has already been fixed.

Previously, claims by several consumers that petrol fills were lower than usual since the implementation of the BUDI95, had gone viral on social media.

Last Saturday, the media reported that Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali said the ministry would not hesitate to take action if there were any suspicious elements, stressing that the targeted subsidy - whether for diesel or petrol - was never intended to reduce public subsidies, but to prevent leakages.

He said close monitoring is being carried out, through a real-time system between KPDN and the Ministry of Finance (MOF), enabling direct tracking of purchasing trends at petrol stations.

Starting Sept 30, Malaysians aged 16 and above with a valid driving licence are automatically eligible to purchase up to 300 litres of RON95 petrol per month.

Meanwhile, in conjunction with the SHMMP for Deepavali, Jegan said a total of 173 enforcement officers and 60 price monitoring officers have been mobilised across Penang, throughout the implementation period, to ensure effective monitoring and to protect consumers from unethical traders seeking to take advantage of the festive season.

“All assigned officers have been mobilised at strategic locations, such as public markets, farmers’ markets and shopping centres selling festive goods, to safeguard consumers from unscrupulous practices,” he said.

All parties are advised to comply with the set prices, and to use pink labels for controlled goods. He stressed that action will be taken against any trader found to have violated the regulations under the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act 2011.

The SHMMP is being implemented from today until Oct 22, involving nine types of food items - imported bone-in mutton, tomatoes, red chillies, small red onions and rose onions (from India), large imported shallots, Australian dhal beans, whole coconut (maximum price applicable at the wholesale level only), and grated coconut (maximum price applicable at the retail level only).

The implementation of the scheme aims to ensure price stability of consumer goods throughout the Deepavali celebrations, and to prevent unreasonable price hikes by traders.

-- BERNAMA